Full Tilt and PokerStars Player Liquidity Merge Just Weeks Away

Amaya Gaming is prepping a player liquidity merger between Full Tilt Poker and PokerStar, which could happen within the next six weeks.

It’s another blockbuster move by Amaya and it’s one that could mean the end of the line for the venerable Full Tilt Poker brand.

News of the big merge was first reported by PokerTube.com late Tuesday afternoon. According to PokerTube, the move could happen within the next six weeks and is the first step in Amaya’s plan for phasing out the brand all together.

Over at Amaya Gaming, company officials were spinning a very different version of the merger. Officially, they are committed to a two-brand strategy and claim that the merger will strengthen both PokerStars and Full Tilt.

While that may be true, it’s a strategy that’s at odds with the reality of Full Tilt’s position in the online poker industry, which is anything but top tier. According to PokerScout.com, an industry rating site, FTP is currently the 11th most popular poker room on the web.

The fact of the matter is that Full Tilt is a tarnished brand and bringing its players into the PokerStars fold is a strategy that serves Amaya’s interests quite nicely.

For example, if Amaya CEO David Baazov winds up taking the company private, as he’s rumored to be doing, shutting down FullTilt would be a quick way of reducing overhead costs. If the company remains public, that option would likely be very popular with shareholders.

While Full Tilt’s exact fate remains to be seen, it’s safe to say that things will never be the same for online poker’s pioneering brand.